Scotland Yard

Scotland Yard is a board game created by Ravensburger Games of Germany in 1983. The objective of the game is for a team of detectives to track down and capture an elusive "Mr. X". The game is played on a large board of London with more than 200 points labeled on the board. Each point on the board is connected to other points by means of differet transportation lines, taxi, bus, and underground (subway).

The detectives and Mr. X move around London by using various tickets. The detectives have a limited supply of tickets to start the game. Mr. X receives the remainder of the tickets, as well as any tickets that are used by the detectives. Players use a ticket, then move their token according to the type of ticket they used and the route they selected. Mr. X., however, writes his move down on a special form and covers it up with a ticket that represents his move.

In addition to the standard tickets, Mr. X receives a very limited supply of black tickets, and double move tickets. The black tickets allow Mr. X to make a move without revealing his method of transportation, or allows him to take special boat trips along the Thames river.

At specified intervals during the game, Mr. X is forced to reveal his location by placing his token on the gameboard. This helps the detectives track down and find Mr. X.

The game is over if any detective moves into a point occupied by Mr. X, Mr. X becomes trapped between a group of detectives with nowhere to move, or if all the detectives are unable to move because they do not have any appropriate tickets.

The game was released in 1983 by Ravensburger Games, and distributed in the United States by Milton Bradley in 1985. It won numerous awards, including the Spiel Des Jahres, German Game Press "Game of the Year". The game was re-released with a new look but same gameplay in 1996 by Ravensburger Games. A 1999 sequel N.Y. Chase has similar gameplay but is set in New York City.

Scotland Yard is the headquarters of London's Metropolitan Police.

History of the site

The Metropolitan police itself was founded by Sir Robert Peel in 1829 to police all of London, apart from the City. He put two Commisioners in charge of it, Richard Mayne and Colonel Charles Rowan. These two guys live together, at 4 Whitehall Place. To make life easy for themselves, they set up a Police Station at the end of their garden. This became the HQ for the whole service.

By the 1880s the Yard (as it's called by its friends) had expanded to cover most of the houses in the area, together with assorted stables, warehouses and the like.

In 1890, a new headquarters was built on the Victoria Embankment, designed by the architect Richard Norman Shaw. As is often the habit with relocations (like Madison Square Gardens), the new office kept its name, becoming New Scotland Yard. Despite yet another relocation, in 1967, it retains that name today.

The name

Nobody is quite sure why Scotland Yard is so called. It usually confuses non-British people, who make the obvious assumption that Scotland Yard has something to do with policing Scotland -- something completely untrue, as Scotland has a different legal system to England and Wales. What we are fairly sure of is that the square which Whitehall Place opened out into was known as Great Scotland Yard. There may also have been Middle and Little Scotland Yards too. Suggestions where this name come from include:

• The area was once a palace or residence, or even favourite site, of the Scottish Monarchy in the 13th Century.
• The area was once owned by an Adam Scott -- or Scot -- in the Middle Ages.
• It's just called that, okay?

Inigo Jones, Christopher Wren, and John Milton are all said to have lived on this site.

Bits and bobs

Scotland Yard today is also the headquarters of some of the more interesting parts of the Police Force, such as Special Branch, the Anti-terrorism division, and Diplomatic Protection. It is also the site of the imfamous Black Museum. Oh, and it's got a funky 3-faced sign that rotates on a pole outside.

Contact

The address of Scotland Yard is:

New Scotland Yard
Broadway
London
SW1H OBG
ENGLAND

Telephone: +(44) 20 7230 1212

http://www.met.police.uk/history/definition.htm
www.guardian.co.uk/notesandqueries/ query/0,5753,-21637,00.html
http://www.s-h-systems.co.uk/tourism/london/new-scotland-yard.html
http://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20001122.html